Mark Bright and Ian Wright were paired together for the first time since Wright broke his leg eight months earlier. Both strikers scored three goals each in Palace's record 8-0 cup victory so deserve equal praise. Bright got the scoring underway in only the second minute with a low shot after cutting in from the left, before converting Wright's cross for his second of the night and then his hat-trick with a header three minutes from time.

Wright's first goal was down to his tenacity in robbing a defender to rifle past goalkeeper Paul Sansome. The hotshot's second goal came from a header off the crossbar and he finished off his hat-trick with a deflected shot from a corner. Bright and Wright claimed the match ball after the game and gave it away at a charity auction.

The club's 9-0 record league victory is thanks partly to Roy Summersby who scored four goals in this demolition of Barrow. It was the first time a Palace player had scored more than three goals in a match since the war.

This entry is unique in that Peter Simpson not only recorded the feat of one hat-trick but he got two! The Exeter players shook the Scotsman by the hand after he buried his sixth goal of the afternoon and Hubert Butler added another in the 7-2 scoreline.

Palace completed their final away fixture of the season on a high with Ian Wright banging in all the goals of a 3-0 success. He opened the scoring with a crisp low finish and then came one of the striker's greatest ever Palace goals. Wright collected Nigel Martyn's kick just inside the Wimbledon half and hit a sublime lob that dipped over the stranded Hans Segers from all of 40 yards. The third goal was an angled finish from close range for Palace's first "away" hat-trick since 1963.

Although Mike Deakin also notched a hat-trick in this 6-2 triumph over Crewe, it was the three goals from a young Johnny Byrne that stood out. Fans could see at the tender age of 19 that Byrne was a special player and his goals would eventually help Palace out of the league's bottom division.

Glaziers fans had a glimpse of what was to come from goal-machine Peter Simpson after he bagged a treble on his senior bow - the only time a player has done so on their debut league appearance. His first goal was a low volley with the second and third coming off his head in the 3-2 win. It was the first of 19 hat-tricks Simpson would claim for Palace.

It's extremely rare to see a left-back score a hat-trick but Dean Gordon achieved the honour at the Hawthorns, scoring all the goals in a 3-2 victory. Gordon converted his first from the penalty spot after Mike Phelan handled in the area. He then went on a marauding run down the left wing before getting upended in the box for another penalty which he duly dispatched. And when a dangerous cross of his was put out of play for a corner, he nodded home Gareth Taylor's flick-on from a Jamie Vincent flag kick to complete his treble.

This was Andy Johnson's first Crystal Palace hat-trick and he picked the perfect opponents in arch rivals Brighton who were thrashed 5-0 at Selhurst Park. Johnson put his side in front early on before getting his second with a header and completing his hat-trick by winning and scoring a penalty.

This makes the top spot for so many reasons. Danny Butterfield's treble is the quickest hat-trick in Palace's history with his goals coming inside an incredible seven minutes. But what makes it more remarkable is the right-back was pushed up front as an emergency striker for the game. He had scored just six times in seven-and-a-half seasons with Palace and he bagged the perfect hat-trick with a goal from either foot and his head in the 3-1 scalp.